In Burlington the year turns twice on the same driveway: in late October it is leaf litter, beds weeded out and re-edged, dethatching before the ground stiffens; by December it is headlights and a blade, the pavement opened before dawn so the day can start on time. M.E. BASS LANDSCAPING works both ends of that swing — weekly lawn maintenance with the walkways edged and every clipping blown off clean, spring and fall cleanups, mulch delivered and laid in hemlock, black or chocolate, hedge and shrub pruning, irrigation started up in spring and shut down in fall, aerating and overseeding, new lawn installation and repair, a four-step fertilizing program, storm cleanup for downed limbs, and snowplowing and snow removal for homes and businesses around town. This is oak country north of Boston, old farm walls still running through the woods and thin soil over ledge, so a good lawn here is coaxed rather than commanded. The pleasure is in what stays behind: a bed line holding its crisp shape against fresh mulch, the turf thickening after a fall seeding, a lot swept bare and gray while the sky is still dropping snow.